September 21st, 1871

Dear Ariadne,

I received your letter last night. When I read it to Phillipa she was determined to write you before the week was over. Mal has had to sit with her every night helping her. It is charming, she clearly still adores you. I haven't told her that you might be coming to live in Juniper Springs. I fear we would hear nothing else for the next few months.

As long as you can purchase your train ticket out to Cheyenne, you need not fear anything else. There is a boarding house in town, about a 15 minute walk from the school. I have a contract with the owner that says you will stay there for the first year of teaching. The lodging is run by Mrs. Regina McCrery. She is a kindly lady with one son. Her husband passed on about five years ago. I never had the opportunity to meet him, but I heard he was a very nice man. I have spoken with Mrs. McCrery and she is delighted to have you. If you desire to leave the boarding house after that first year, we can discuss the possibilities for your living arrangements then.

You will be making $50 per month. $18 of that will go towards your lodging, but that will include three meals per day and your room will be furnished. Do not fret, you will find quickly that the prices out here are not as high as you have come to know in New York.

The school is a modest building, one room, about 14ft X 20ft. We are working on fixing the leaks in the roof so it will be operational by the time you arrive. There are three windows, however no glass panes in them. At the insistence of the former school teacher, Mrs. Ellis, her husband and several others installed shutters last year. There is also an outhouse and a well outside at the back of the building. The school is surrounded by a field of wild grass, and the children love to run around during recess.

I am sure you are curious about the town. I will fill you in more when you come out here. Mal wants to introduce you to the ladies in town. There are several women your age that she thinks you will like.

As for the children, you will be teaching 26 students ranging in age from 5 to 16. I know it is a lot of handle, but in addition to this, there is interest in adult classes at night. Not everyone out here can read, and many of the children are forced to leave school during the harvest season to help their families. As the superintendent, I am striving to educate this town. We can discuss this more when you arrive.

I look forward to hearing from you! Keep in mind, the spring term starts in January, however the snow will start to fall by the end of October. You should attempt to get here as soon as you can. Mrs. McCrery agreed to lodge you until you start earning your living, and you can settle your debt for the previous months at that time.

Please send me correspondence quickly as to when you expect to arrive so that we can prepare for you. I know it seems frightening, but you will love it here.

Sincerely,

Dominic Cobb

Ariadne had read the letter over fifty times that week. He makes it sound as though I have already accepted!

By the time his letter had reached her, it was already October 7th. It took so long for mail to get back and forth that she needed to decide quickly what she would do. Dom said the snow starts to fall by the end of October.

Despite her time constraint, Ariadne had not been able to bring herself to inquire about purchasing a train ticket until the 12th. But by then she was determined. You can do this. You CAN do this. YOU CAN DO THIS! had been her mantra all week long.

It was about a 30 minute walk from the orphanage to the New York Central Railroad station. She had seen this building several times before but had never been inside. It was an impressively large building. Something about its size seemed daunting and made this entire process seem even more frightening.

There were people everywhere. A gentleman in a suit smiled at her and opened a door for her as she walked up to the entrance. She hesitantly smiled back, unaccustomed to being treated like a lady, rather than a child, and walked through the doors.

She had always thought the hustle and bustle on the streets of New York was hectic. Comparatively though, it was nothing quite like the inside of this train station. Everyone was trying to go somewhere and they all seemed to be in a hurry.

Ariadne had to jump aside as a mother and three children ran by, all dragging their little suitcases beside them. The mother looked to be about 30, and her kids were all under 10. She had a worn handkerchief tied on her head instead of a hat, and her jacket looked worn and dirty. The little boys were dressed in a similar fashion, but they looked happy and excited about their upcoming adventure. The littlest boy, who could not have been over 5, was having trouble carrying his suitcase. Ariadne watched the adorable scene with amusement as it kept bumping against his legs as he tried to keep up.

Ariadne turned at the sound of someone asking her to move. A porter with a trolley full of expensive and exquisite looking luggage was waiting impatiently for her to get out of his path. She mumbled an apology and quickly took a step back. Strolling along behind him was a couple dressed in the finest clothing Ariadne had ever seen. The man wore a black suit that fit him like a glove, he looked professional and very well off. The woman on his arm was wearing a dress that looked to be made of fine lavender silk, with beaded embroidery and lace accents. Below her skirts, Ariadne could barely see the tips of her black boots. They were black and had lace and beading covering them. It was clearly the latest fashion and made Ariadne feel underdressed. She had never had the money to buy fashionable and elegant clothing. They maintained their leisurely pace as they headed in the same direction as the mother and her children.

On one side of the building, there was a ticket counter with three tellers, all of whom had lines of people waiting to purchase tickets. From the other side of the station, through two large doors, she could hear train whistles blowing and conductors yelling their final boarding calls.

Some of the smoke and steam from the trains had wafted inside the building and curled and drifted upwards towards the rafters. Because of this, the steams of sunlight that were coming through the windows were visible.

It must have been a full three minutes before Ariadne moved from her spot by the door. And it was only because someone had bumped into her.

"Sorry Miss!" a young man called back to her as he jogged towards the door that led to the boarding platforms.

Shaking herself out of her daze, Ariadne walked towards the ticket counter. The man in front of her bought a ticket for Chicago and seemed too distracted by a newspaper in his hand to care about the price.

Oh how it must feel to have money to burn, Ariadne thought jealously. And to wear clothing like the lady earlier. I would feel like a princess. She tried to keep her mind from having these thoughts, but they would always come creeping in when she found herself in the company of people so clearly above her station.

After waiting in line for about 10 minutes, she was at the counter.

"What'll it be Miss?" The elderly gentleman at the counter asked her. He has a weary expression on his face, but looked friendly enough.

"Hello Sir," Adriane gulped and cleared her through. "I…um, I need to purchase a train ticket out to Cheyenne, Wyoming please."

"Cheyenne ya'say?" The man looked to his side at a little map on the side of his cubical. "Well, that'll take ya' from New York to St. Louis, and yu'll board a train from there that can take ya' the rest o' the way."

Ariadne nodded like she knew all along that this was the route she needed to take. He looked at her, then seeing her nod, continued.

"It's $18 fur the first train, an' then another $10 fur the second train. Well that's for a coach ticket. Did you want prices for first class?" She looked at him with surprise and muttered a small no before he continued. "When do ya' wanna leave?" He asked.

Ariadne thought she might cry. She knew that the train ticket would be expensive but $28!? And that was only for the coach ticket! Good thing you brought everything you have, she thought trying to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. She thought with envy of the man who bought a ticket to Chicago. He most certainly wouldn't have felt this way about $28.

Her current life savings was $34. In the year she had spent working for the Cobb's she had earned about $60. It was her first real job, and they were gracious to even give her a chance. She cared for Phillipa about 10 hours a week, on the days that Mal had meetings and social events with her ladies group. Earning that $60 had made her feel rich and important.

But after buying Christmas presents and the occasional treat for her or the other children over the past few years, almost half of that money was gone. She had been frugal with it, thankfully, but after purchasing this ticket she would have almost nothing.

She unbuttoned her jacket and brought out her little purse, opening the snap and removing $28. Her hand was shaking slightly as she handed it to him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Um… W..when can I leave?" She asked trying to steady her voice. This was real now. She was buying a ticket. A ticket that would take her away from everything she knew in the world.

"Well, let's see…" He brought out a time table and calendar with destinations and numbers written on it. "Looks like we've got a train leaving for St. Louis every Wednesday. Ya' missed the one yesterday, but I could get ya' on the one on the 18th. Either that o' the one 25th."

If I take the train next week I doubt my letter will reach Dom in time. I need him to know I am coming so that he can be in Cheyenne to pick me up. There might not even be enough time by the 25th. She thought with a practical determination that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Please sir, I need to inform my friends that I will be coming, is there one the week after that?" She asked the kind man.

"O' sure, November 1st then?" He asked and she nodded.

"O'righty then! I have ya' a ticket here for a train to Cheyenne leaving on November 1st. When ya get ta St. Louis ya' need ta show this ticket stub ta them an' they'll give ya' the ticket for the second train, understand?"

She nodded again.

"K, so this train leaves from platform two at 10:00am. Got it? 10:00am on tha 1st."

"Yes sir," she smiled at him for the first time since she had heard the cost of this trip. He handed her the train ticket and she put it into her purse, snapped it closed and then tucked it safely into her jacket and said goodbye.

Later that day she penned a quick letter to Dom, stating that her ticket was purchased and she would be arriving in Cheyenne on November 8th. Thankfully stamps were only $.02, because she now only had $6 left in the world.

She couldn't tell if her hands were shaking from the cold, from worry and fear or from excitement. Either way she knew this was going to be unlike anything she had ever done.

So I know it's going to take forever for her and Arthur to meet! But the next chapter will introduce Eames and his lady :)

Also I am a huge history buff; I tried to make everything as accurate as I could as far as time frames for letter delivery and train travel as well as income and the value of money! Let me know if it seems like anything is inaccurate!